Vaccine Promise Raises Election Stakes for Scottish Leader

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is aiming to get more than half the population vaccinated a month before a critical vote.

Members of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards work to convert a sports hall into a Covid 19 vaccination center in Glasgow, on Jan. 20.

Photographer: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images

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The success of Britain’s vaccine program may carry huge political weight for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but it could also turn into a pivotal moment for one of his toughest adversaries.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon promised this week to get a first dose into the majority of the nation’s adult population by mid-April, less than a month before Scotland votes in a local parliamentary election that she’s counting on to reinforce her drive for another independence referendum.